The field of the disclosure relates generally to tubing sleeves, and more specifically to methods and systems for dislodging heat shrink tubing sleeves.
Heat shrink tubing is utilized for many purposes, including wire and cable identification and/or insulation. In some known systems, short lengths, also referred to as sleeves, of heat shrink tubing are attached to a bandolier. The heat shrink tubing is commonly coupled to the bandolier by partially shrinking the tubing around a protruding rib of the bandolier. The bandolier of tubing may be fed into a printer to print information, such as wire identification information, on the tubing. An installer removes the tubing sleeves from the bandolier and positions the tubing on the appropriate wires. Heat is then applied to the tubing to shrink it in place on the wires.
Typically, removing heat shrink tubing from a bandolier is a manual process. In some known methods, a clamping tool is used to grasp a sleeve of heat shrink tubing coupled to a bandolier and the manual removal tool is used to remove the heat shrink tubing. Often, the removal tool resembles a pair of tweezers and that must be squeezed with the installer's fingers to close the tool on or behind the tubing sleeve. After grasping a sleeve with the removal tool, the installer pulls the sleeve, via the tool, off of the rib of the bandolier to which the sleeve is coupled. The removal process requires hand strength, dexterity, and patience. In some known applications, such as labeling a complex wiring harness, this process may be repeated tens or hundreds of times.